"What made the show lasting was it wasn't actually about technology," he said. "It was about values and relationships. Which is why it didn't matter that the special effects were kind of cheesy and bad, right? They'd land on a planet and there are all these papier-mâché boulders. But it didn't matter because it was really talking about a notion of a common humanity and a confidence in our ability to solve problems."

Obama put together a list of his eight favorite sci-fi movies and series that "will expand your mind" as part of a Wired special issue the president guest-edited for the magazine.